The Invitation Program for Cultural Leaders aims to provide prominent persons in cultural and social fields and leaders of special importance in the ten ASEAN countries with a firsthand introduction to Japan to enhance their awareness and understanding of the country.

FY2019

Malaysia
Norliza Rofli (Tan Sri Norliza binti Rofli)
(Director General, National Department for Culture & Arts, Ministry of Tourism and Culture)

January 28 to February 6, 2020
Stay in: Tokyo, Hokkaido
Visit: Agency for Cultural Affairs, Arts Council Tokyo (Tokyo Metropolitan Foundation for History and Culture), Japan Arts Council (National Theatre), the University of Tokyo, the Saison Foundation, the National Ainu Ethnic Museum, Sapporo City government, the Sapporo Snow Festival Executive Committee

FY2018

Singapore
Lam Peng Er
(Senior Research Fellow, East Asian Institute, National University of Singapore)

December 2 to 12, 2018
Stayed in: Tokyo, Iwate (Rikuzentakata), Morioka (Iwate), Shichigahama (Miyagi), Kesennuma (Miyagi), Soma (Fukushima)
Visited: Mr. Masayoshi Yoshino(Former Minister of Reconstruction Agency), Reconstruction Agency, Iwate Regional Bureau of Reconstruction, Iwate Prefectual University, Iwate Prefectual Office, Miyagi Prefectural Office, Mr. Hidekiyo Tachiya (Soma City Mayor),Mr. Kaoru Terasawa(Shichigahama Town Mayor), Mr. Futoshi Toda( Rikuzentakata City Mayor), Mr. Kiyoshi Murakami(RIkuzentakata City Advisor), Yagisawa Shoten, Prof. Tsutomu Kikuchi

Laos
Mattie Do
(Film Director)

July 17 to 27, 2018
Stayed in: Tokyo, Kyoto
Visited: Japan Institute of the Moving Image, Directors Guild of Japan, Kinohaus, Toei Kyoto Moving Studio, The Museum of Kyoto, Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc., Nikkatsu Corporation, Asmik Ace, Inc., Klock Worx Co.Itd., King Record Co., Ltd., Mr. Kenji Ishizaka, Mr. Shozo Ichiyama, Mr. Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Mr. John Junkerman, Mr. Makoto Shinozaki, Mr. Hiroshi Takahashi, Ms. Kiki Sugino and others.

"The First Japanese Screening of 'Dearest Sister,' a New Type of Art Horror Film by Lao's First Female Director!" on July 20, 2018 at Athénée Français Cultural Center in Tokyo

"MATTIE DO――Depicting real lives of Lao women" the Japan Foundation Asia Center's Asia Hundreds series.

FY2017

Myanmar
Ma Thida
(Board Member, PEN International)

November 30 to December 9, 2017
Stayed in: Tokyo, Yamanashi (Kawaguchiko), Shiga, Kyoto
Visited: Ms. Junko Kawaguchi, Ms. Randy Taguchi, Nippon Foundation, Lake Kawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefectural Museum of Literature, Sophia University, Development Bank of Japan, Ryukoku University, Ms. Aiko Doden, The Japan P.E.N. Club, and others.

Public Lecture "Prisoner of Conscience: Finding and Practicing Freedom in Prison Cell" on December 4, 2017 at Sophia University in Tokyo.

"MA THIDA――Prisoner of Conscience: Finding and Practicing Freedom in Prison Cell" the Japan Foundation Asia Center's Asia Hundreds series.

Philippines
Liza Diño-Seguerra
(Chairperson and CEO, Film Development Council of the Philippines)

December 9 to 18, 2017
Stayed in: Tokyo, Fukuoka, Kyoto
Visited: Production I.G., The Japan Institute of the Moving Image, Fukuoka International Film Festival Secretariat, The Fukuoka City Public Library Film Archive, Mr. Adrian Wood (Restoration Asia), Kyoto University of Art & Design (Department of Film Production), Japan Community Cinema Center, The National Film Center, and others.

Tan Michael Lim
(Chancellor, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City)

September 25 to October 2, 2017
Stayed in: Osaka, Kyoto, Tokyo
Visited: The National Museum of Ethnology, Osaka University (Graduate School of Medicine), the International Research Center for Japanese Studies, Kyoto University (Center for Southeast Asian Studies/ Institute for Research in Humanities), Shunkoin Temple, The University of Tokyo (Institute for Advanced Studies on Asia/ Institute of Gerontology), Tokyo National Museum, and others.

Vietnam
Pham Chi Trung
(Director, Youth Theater of Vietnam)

October 21 to 30, 2017
Stayed in: Tokyo, Kyoto, Hyogo (Kinosaki)
Visited: Mr. Hiroyuki Muneshige, KAAT (Kanagawa Arts Theatre), Wakabacho Wharf, ZA-KOENJI Public Theatre, SPAC (Shizuoka Performing Arts Center), Kyoto Art Center, Kyoto University of Art & Design, ROHM Theatre Kyoto, Kinosaki International Arts Center, and others.

FY2016

Brunei
Siti Kamaluddin
(Film Director)

March 23 to April 5, 2017
Stayed in: Kyoto, Osaka, Tokyo
Visited: Kyoto University of Art and Design, Ms. Aiko Hirai, Mr. Takashi Kitaoji, Kyoto University (Center for Southeast Asian Studies), Mr. Hiroyuki Yamamoto, IMAGICA WEST Corp., Toho Studios, Fuji Television Network, Inc., Mr. Naotaro Endo, Nihon University College Of Art, Mr. Tetsuya Matsushima, Japan Institute of the Moving Image, Mr. Tadao Sato, Mr. Kenji Ishizaka, KINOHAUS, Directors Guild of Japan, and others.

 Public film screening of Yasmine on March 31, 2017 at the Yotsuya Kumin Hall in Tokyo.

"SITI KAMALUDDIN—Seeing Brunei Today through Yasmine," the Japan Foundation Asia Center's Asia Hundreds series.

Cambodia
Buppha Devi Norodom
(President, Neak Moneang Phat Kanhol Foundation)

October 31 to November 5, 2016
Stayed in: Tokyo
Visited: National Noh Theatre, Tokyo International Film Festival, Mr. Amon Miyamoto, Mr. Kaiji Moriyama, and others.

Indonesia
Ahmad Fuadi
(Writer)

October 15 to 29, 2016
Stayed in: Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Wakayama (Koyasan), Kobe, Hiroshima
Visited: Sophia University, Keio University, Sekolah Republik Indonesia Tokyo, Hiroshima Indonesia Association, Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum, Tokyo International Film Festival, Tokyo Camii, Kobe Muslim Mosque, and others.

Malaysia
Ramona Mohd Tahir
(Dean, Faculty of Music, Universiti Teknologi MARA)

September 14 to 27, 2016
Stayed in: Kyoto, Shizuoka (Hamamatsu), Tokyo
Visited: Kyoto City University of Arts (Research Center for Japanese Traditional Music), Yamaha Corporation Toyooka Factory / Kakegawa Factory, Hamamatsu Museum of Musical Instruments, Japan Arts Council, Kunitachi College of Music, and others.

Myanmar
Kyi Phyu Shin
(Film Director)

February 12 to 26, 2017
Stayed in: Tokyo, Kanagawa, Kyoto
Visited: Toho Studios, Toei Movie Studios, the National Film Center, Kamakura City Kawakita Film Museum, Kyoto University (Center for Southeast Asian Studies), Tokyo University of the Arts (Graduate School of Film and New Media), Kyoto University of Art and Design, JETRO (Institute of Developing Economies), KINOHAUS, Kyoto Minami-Kaikan, and others.

"KYI PHYU SHIN—Myanmar Filmmaking Today: At Transitions in Business and Politics," the Japan Foundation Asia Center's Asia Hundreds series.

Singapore
Farish Ahmad Noor
(Associate Professor, S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University)

February 20 to March 5, 2017
Stayed in: Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, Hyogo (Himeji), Tokyo
Visited: Osaka University (Osaka School of International Public Policy), Kyoto University (Center for Integrated Area Studies), The Museum Meiji-mura, Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, The Sasakawa Peace Foundation, Waseda University (Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies), Toyo University, Toyo Bunko, and others.

Public Lecture "Across Borders in Southeast Asia Today" on February 28, 2017 at the Japan Foundation in Tokyo.

"FARISH A. NOOR—Across Borders in Southeast Asia Today: Envisioning Future ASEAN Integration based on the Complex Reality of Human Lives," the Japan Foundation Asia Center's Asia Hundreds series.

FY2015

Brunei
Pg Khamarul Zaman Pg Hj Tajuddin
(Graphic Designer)

April 2 to 16, 2015
Stayed in: Tokyo, Kanagawa (Hakone), Osaka, Kyoto
Visited: Tokyo National Museum, Scai the Bathhouse, Futaba-en (Edo Sarasa Dye Workshop), Mr. Yuji Hikage, the National Museum of Modern Art Craft Gallery, Mr. Kazumi Murose, The Adachi Institute of Woodcut Prints, Hakone Open Air Museum, Ms. Shihoko Fukumoto, Kyoto International Manga Museum, and others.

Cambodia
Rithy Panh
(Filmmaker/Founder, Bophana Audio Visual Research Center)

June 4 to 14, 2015
Stayed in: Tokyo, Kyoto
Visited: The National Film Center, Nihon Denpa News Co., Ltd., National Museum of Ethnology, The Nippon Foundation, Toyota Foundation, NHK Archives, Kyoto University (Center for Southeast Asia Studies), and others.

Public film screening of S21: The Khmer Rouge Killing Machine and lecture "Social Significance of Documentaries" on June 6, 2015 at the Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Kyoto University.

Indonesia
Yenny Wahid
(Director, The Wahid Institute)

November 9 to 21, 2015
Stayed in: Tokyo, Kyoto, Fukuoka
Visited: Ms. Yuko Obuchi, Mr. Takashi Shiraishi, Mr. Yutaka Iimura, The Nippon Foundation, JETRO, Mr. Mitsuo Nakamura, Ms. Yoko Hayami, Mr. Yasuo Fukuda, and others.

Public lecture "Islam Nusantara—An approach to tolerance and harmony in Islam" on November 18, 2015 at the SMBC Gofukubashi Club in Tokyo.
Public lecture video 1 The Japan Foundation YouTube
Public lecture video 2 The Japan Foundation YouTube

Malaysia
Hassan Abdul Muthalib
(Animation Film Director/Film History Researcher/Scriptwriter)

April 19 to May 2, 2015
Stayed in: Tokyo, Hiroshima, Nara, Kyoto, Hyogo (Takarazuka)
Visited: Toho Studio, Mr. Yamada Yoji, Malaysian Film Week, The National Film Center, Suginami Animation Museum, Shibamata Taishakuten, A-Bomb Dome, Onomichi Motion Picture Museum, Ghibli Museum, Musashino Art University, National University of Fine Arts and Music, and others.

Myanmar
Aung Min
(Doctor/Screenwriter)

November 15 to 28, 2015
Stayed in: Tokyo, Kyoto, Kanagawa (Kamakura)
Visited: The National Film Center, Mr. Koji Fukada, Mr. Koyo Yamashita, Festival Tokyo, Rissei Cinema Project, Kyoto Art Center, Ms. Yoko Hayami, Kyoto University of Art and Design (Graduate School of Image Sciences), Mr. Mario Lopez, Mr. Kan Suzuki, Ms. Aiko Hirai, Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music (Graduate School of Film), Mr. Kenzo Horikoshi, Ms. Etsuko Doi, Writers Guild of Japan, and others.

"Film in Japan and Myanmar—Aung Min," interviewed by Hajime Oishi. Republished from CINRA.NET's "Introduction to Asian Art and Culture Vol. 3: Film in Japan and Myanmar." In Japanese only.

Singapore
Koh Buck Song
(Writer/Poet/Branding Consultant)

November 15 to 28, 2015
Stayed in: Tokyo, Kanagawa (Kamakura), Yamanashi (Kofu), Kyoto, Naha
Visited: Ota Memorial Museum of Art, Building Research Institute, Mr. Toshihiro Menju, Mr. Natsumi Murakami, Mr. Toshiyuki Inoko, Mr. Eisuke Tachikawa, and others.

Vietnam
Đinh Tiẽn Dũng
(Playwright, Broadcast Journalist)

April 5 to 19, 2015
Stayed in: Tokyo, Yokohama, Kanagawa (Hakone), Osaka, Kyoto
Visited: Ms. Eri Watanabe, NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation), TBS (Tokyo Broadcasting System Holdings), Mr. Yoji Sakate, Mr. Osamu Suzuki, Writers Guild of Japan, Kyoto Art Center, Kyoto University of Art and Design, Yoshimoto Kogyo Co., and others.

FY2014

Laos
Sulaphet Keoviengkham
(Director, Laostar TV)

March 2 to 12, 2015
Stayed in: Tokyo, Kanagawa (Hakone), Kyoto, Nara, Sapporo
Visited: TBS (Tokyo Broadcasting System Holdings), Fuji TV, TV Asahi, NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation), Japan and Laos Diplomatic Relationship 60th Anniversary Seminar, Hokkaido Broadcasting, Sapporo Television Production, and others.